The Rest of the Story

Trivia
Trivia brain teasers have some element of trivia in them, but they are not just pure trivia questions.

Inspired by Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story".

President Andrew Jackson had passed away at his Hermitage home. He was very well thought of in his time, so naturally, thousands of mourners came to pay their respects.

In that day and age, social manners were of utmost importance. Few occasions would demand the level of dignity and social grace as a funeral. And surely, no funeral would demand as much respect as that of Andrew Jackson.

Yet despite the solemnity of the proceedings, one mourner dared to upset the service with a string of profanities. The culprit was quickly identified as Andrew Jackson's dear friend, Poll. Old Poll, as he was often called, entered the parlor where Jackson's body was laid out and immediately let loose a string of obscenities that would have made a seasoned military man blush.

Despite the nature of the event and the high social standards of the time, no man was asked to leave the service, nor was any man removed by force.

Rest assured that anyone who would disrupt such an event with such a blatant disregard for manners would certainly have been promptly ousted, no matter the offender in question.

How can you explain this conundrum?

Hint

Are humans the only ones capable of such obscenities?

Answer

Old Poll was Andrew Jackson's pet parrot. Old Poll could speak in both English and Spanish. When he was brought into the parlor during Jackson's eulogy, the bird began swearing loudly in both languages! The other mourners were so upset and offended that the bird was removed for the rest of the service.